The Cure versus silly journalists (with video evidence)
Why do journalists often ask silly questions, particularly in the entertainment industry? It’s a question that frequently arises after watching TV or radio shows where artists are invited to discuss a new album or project.
Two videos that are spreading fast on social media and which feature The Cure as the interviewees perfectly exemplify this issue. After watching these clips, it’s hard not to question the intellectual aptitude of some journalists to be very honest.
There are a few reasons why journalists might ask silly questions. Sometimes, they may lack the necessary knowledge or understanding of the topic. However, this is not usually the case. More often, they ask these questions to capture the response on tape, film, or in writing. But this approach essentially reflects lazy journalism. Instead, they could ask a question that delves deeper into the subject matter, providing the information that people genuinely want. In short, journalists should strive for thought-provoking and insightful questions, rather than resorting to superficial inquiries that may ultimately leave both the artist and the audience unsatisfied.
These two cringe-worthy moments occurred during interviews with The Cure, and fortunately, we can enjoy them for their sheer absurdity. Which reminds us of this nice Depeche Mode line: “Is stupidity the best or simply the easiest?”
In the first video, The Cure is confronted by a journalist who bizarrely starts to mimic the sounds of their songs. The second video shows the band being ‘interviewed’ during their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. It becomes painfully obvious that the band members were far less excited about their induction than their overly enthusiastic interviewer, Carrie Keagan.
Side-Line also covered The Cure’s ‘the system that values profit over people’.
About The Cure
The Cure formed in Crawley, England, in 1976 around schoolmates Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums), first performing as Malice, then Easy Cure, before settling on the Cure in 1978 and signing to Chris Parry’s Fiction Records. The band released its debut album, “Three Imaginary Boys,” in 1979. Bassist Simon Gallup joined for “Seventeen Seconds” (1980) and, after a mid-catalog departure, returned in 1984 and has remained in the lineup since. Tolhurst, the band’s last other founding member, moved to keyboards before being dismissed in February 1989 ahead of “Disintegration.”
Key albums include “Faith” (1981), “Pornography” (1982), “The Head on the Door” (1985), “Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me” (1987), “Disintegration” (1989) and the UK number-one “Wish” (1992). Keyboardist Roger O’Donnell joined in 1987 and drummer Jason Cooper in 1994; guitarist Reeves Gabrels joined in 2012. The band’s most recent studio album, “Songs of a Lost World” (Fiction/Capitol), was released on 1 November 2024, their first in sixteen years, reaching number one in the UK and the top five in the US. The Cure won its first Grammy Awards in February 2026, for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Alternative Music Performance.
Founding-era member Perry Bamonte, who joined in 1990, died on 24 December 2025 at age 65. The Cure was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. The current lineup is Smith, Gallup, O’Donnell, Cooper and Gabrels. Robert Smith has maintained a public, often combative relationship with the music press since the band’s early years.
As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.
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